Inspecting NIRSpec at Goddard Space Flight Center
Date: 30 September 2013
Satellite: JWST
Depicts: NIRSpec at Goddard Space Flight Center
Copyright: NASA/Chris Gunn
NIRSpec, (the Near InfraRed Spectrograph), pictured in the Space Systems Development and Integration Facility (SSDIF), shortly after arriving at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on 20 September 2013. A visual inspection of NIRSpec is being carried out, using special "Crime Lite" bright LED illumination sources. These are used to check the cleanliness and general status of the instrument after transport from the premises of prime contractor EADS Astrium in Germany, to Goddard.
NIRSpec, one of four instruments on JWST, is a multi-object spectrograph capable of observing more than 100 astronomical objects simultaneously. It will support JWST's four main science themes by providing low, medium and high-resolution spectroscopic observations.
NIRSpec is built by European industry to ESA's specifications and managed by the ESA JWST Project at ESTEC, the Netherlands. The prime contractor is EADS Astrium GmbH in Ottobrunn, Germany. The NIRSpec detector and MSA subsystems are provided by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
